Coaches Meeting San Carlos Flag, Winter 15 Meeting

Welcome to San Carlos Flag Over 200+ players, Boys and Girls 3 Age Groups 22 Teams Thanks so much for your support. Could not have done it without you

Expectations This is a recreation league, though we compete hard, this is primarily for fun and for the kids Good sportsmanship is expected at all times from players, coaches and parents Reward effort as well as achievement Balance competitiveness with play time Cheer great plays on both sides Best words for parents to say – “I love to watch you play.”

Equipment All players must be wearing a mouthguard by 2 nd game No player may wear metal cleats No casts Optional – Soft head protector (available for purchase) – Gloves – Soft Knee Pads

Coaches on Playing Field Junior and Senior Coaches will be allowed on the playing field for the first 2 games on offense only Minis can stay on the field On the 3 rd game, coaches can signal in the play or send in a player

Equipment Jerseys, Flags and Balls will be provided and should be here by second game (maybe by first) Veteran coaches, if you have flags, please bring them as we will need extras for the first game Please also bring: – Bag to hold balls & flags – scissors and masking tape and sharpies to customize flags – pump with needles

Equipment (cont) Jerseys must not obscure flags – Either tuck jerseys in pants or wear flag belt over jersey Wrist Coaches allowed on players arm

Playing Field

Tight Schedule – Start Promptly There are 22 teams, 11 games, 3 Fields Games must start on time 5:30 Minis (2 Games) 6:20 Junior Early Games (3 Games) 7:10 Junior Late Games (2 Games) 7:10 Senior Early Game (1 Game) 8:00 Senior Late Games (3 Games) Tight Parking

Starting Coin Toss – Captains meet prior to play – Home Team wears dark jerseys – Visiting Team call – Winner has choice of offense or defense – Loser chooses direction it will defend Possession – Offense takes possession at the 5-yard line Offense has 3 downs to make it to midfield Once mid-field is crossed they have another 3 downs to score – If the Offense fails to cross midfield or score, the ball changes possession, the other team takes over and starts at the 5-yard line – All possession changes (except interceptions) begin on the offense 5- yard line – Teams change end zones at the second half Possession goes to the team that started on defense in the first half

Timing Games are 20 minutes each half 2 minute half-time One 30-second time-out per half Officials may stop clock at their discretion Injury will stop the clock After the official spots the ball, the offense has 30 seconds to snap. 1rst delay is a warning, subsequent delays will result in a 5 yard penalty & loss of down

Scoring 6 pts for a touchdown 1 pt PAT from the 5-yard line (must be a pass) 2 pt PAT from the 12-yard line (pass or run) NEW – If a 28 point difference is reached, the losing team will be allowed a sixth player until the 28 point threshold is reached * San Carlos Specific

Passing All passes begin behind the LOS and end beyond it. (only one forward pass per play) No laterals, pitches or screen plays are allowed QB has 7 seconds to throw the ball or hand-off – Refs will countdown aloud, if the ball is not thrown of handed-off, the play is dead and is spotted at the LOS – Once ball is handed off, there is no 7 second rule – If QBs flag is pulled before 7 seconds, QB is down where flag is pulled Interceptions may be returned except during a PAT

Receiving All players are eligible to catch a pass (including QB if a hand-off has been made) One player is allowed in motion at a time One foot inbounds for a valid pass Receiving/Running – Once ball is advanced beyond LOS, the player in possession is the only one allowed to advance the ball – Offensive players must “freeze” once ball is past LOS – No screening, blocking or running next to ball carrier

Running QB may not run beyond LOS with ball – QB may hand-off then catch a pass Handoffs are allowed only behind the LOS – Teams are allowed as many handoffs as they want but must be behind LOS Player who receives handoff may throw the ball as long they are behind LOS

Running (cont) Ball is spotted where the players feet are when flag is pulled (not where the ball is) “Center Sneak” plays – Ball must completely leave center hands – Center must step back and be completely behind LOS before getting a handoff

No Run Zone No Run Zones are 5 yards in front of midfield and 5 yards in front of goal line If the play starts in the No Run Zone, Offense must use a pass to get a first down or a touchdown

Rushing the Passer Ref will mark off 7 yards from LOS Rushers will start 7 yards from LOS – If rusher leaves 7 yard mark prior to snap, they may reset Defenders not rushing may defend LOS but cannot cross it unless there is a handoff Rusher must have clear path to the QB – Any interference by offense will be considered screening Players rushing QB may attempt to block pass but must not touch QB’s arm If offensive players hold position until rush has crossed LOS, rusher must go around Path to QB is set pre-snap

Impeding Rusher

Flag Pulling A defensive player may not pull flag of a player who does not have full possession of the ball Defenders may dive to pull flags, but may not tackle, run through player, push down or knock out of bounds the ball carrier No stripping the ball

Snapping Ball Ball must be snapped between centers legs – Spend time on this, have 2 kids who can do this Team must have a minimum of 4 player otherwise it is a forfeit – In the event of a forfeit, the losing team may “borrow” players from other teams to play the game for the benefit of players who showed up Ball is spotted where carriers feet are There are no fumbles. In case of drops, ball is dead where it hits ground.

Dead Ball Ball Ruled Dead when: – Carriers flag is pulled – Ball carrier steps out of bounds – Ball hits the ground – Ball carriers knee or arm touches ground Hands can be used to keep balance – Offensive player only has one or zero flags i.e. Can catch pass with one flag, but is down on possession

Penalties All Penalties are called only by officials Referees will determine incidental contact from result of play Only coaches can ask about rule clarifications All penalties will be assessed from LOS except spot fouls Loss of down means it is consumed If penalty is on offense on 3 rd down, it is a turnover Games can’t end on defensive penalty unless declined by offense If distance to goal is distance is shorter than penalty yardage, then penalty is ½ the distance to the goal

Defensive Spot Fouls Pass InterferenceAutomatic First Down Holding+5 Yards, Automatic Fist Down Stripping+10 Yards, First Down Unnecessary Roughness+10 Yards, First Down

Offensive Spot Fouls Screening or running with ball carrier-10 and loss of down Charging-10 and loss of down Flag Guarding-10 and loss of down Offensive unnecessary roughness-10 and loss of down

Defensive Penalties Offside+5 from LOS and 1rst Down Illegal Rush (starting closer than 7 yards)+5 from LOS and 1rst Down Roughing Passer+5 from LOS and 1rst Down Taunting+5 from LOS and 1rst Down Unsportsman-like conduct+10 from LOS and 1rst Down

Offensive Penalties Offside-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Illegal Forward Pass-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Offensive Pass Interference-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Illegal Motion-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Delay of game-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Impeding Rusher-5 Yards from LOS and Loss of Down Unsportsman-like conduct+10 from LOS and 1rst Down

Inadvertent Whistle/Challenges In the event of an inadvertent whistle the offense has two choices: – Keep play where play was blown dead and down consumed – Reset down and play at original LOS Teams may use a timeout to challenge a call. If call is reversed, no time out will be charged

Overtime/Playoffs During regular season, there is no overtime. It’s OK to end in a tie All teams will make playoffs – Offense has choice of 1 pt or 2 pt conversion on 5 or 12 yard line – Each team will have 1 play – Repeat until score is not tied at end of both teams turns at offense During Playoffs Overtime a coin toss will determine who has offense first Tie-breaking for Seeding will be determined by: – Win Loss Record – Win Loss against each other – Win Loss against common opponents – Coin Toss There is no reward for running up a score